Compression rail for sliding cup holder tray

ABSTRACT

According to one aspect of the invention, a cup holder assembly includes a support frame, a cup holder and a dampener. The support frame has spaced apart walls. The cup holder is slidably engaged with the walls of the support frame for movement between a stowed position disposed between the walls of the support frame and a use position extending outwardly from the support frame. The dampener is coupled to the walls of the support frame. The dampener has an arcuate spring member formed integrally therewith to provide an interference fit with the cup holder for dampening the sliding movement of the cup holder relative to the sleeve between the stowed and use positions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to retractable cup holders in automotive vehicles. More particularly, the invention relates to a rail for dampening the movement of a retractable cup holder between stowed and use positions.

2. Description of the Related Art

Automotive vehicles typically include cup holders for holding beverage containers within the vehicle passenger compartment. Typically, the cup holder is integral with a center console, armrest or dashboard. Some vehicles include a cup holder that is slidable between a stowed position and a use position. In the stowed portion, the cup holder is disposed within a cavity hidden behind a wall of a console, armrest or dashboard. In the use position, the cup holder extends outwardly from the wall for supporting a beverage container.

The sliding mechanisms that allow the movement of the cup holder between the stowed and use positions range in complexity. Simple mechanisms allow fully manual movement of the cup holder. More complex mechanisms are spring loaded for one-touch actuation of the cup holder between the stowed and use positions. These one-touch designs also typically include structures for dampening the motion of the cup holder. Conventional dampening, such as compression rails, structures utilize spring metal members that apply force along a side face of the cup holder, thereby creating a frictional force that slows or dampens the motion of the cup holder between the stowed and use positions. It is readily appreciated that these complex sliding mechanisms are more expensive than the simple manually operated mechanisms. It remains desirable to provide an improved cup holder design that is less expensive to produce and assemble than conventional designs, without sacrificing function and quality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, a cup holder assembly includes a support frame, a cup holder and a dampener. The support frame has spaced apart walls.

The cup holder is slidably engaged with the walls of the support frame for movement between a stowed position disposed between the walls of the support frame and a use position extending outwardly from the support frame. The dampener is coupled to the walls of the support frame. The dampener has an arcuate spring member formed integrally therewith to provide an interference fit with the cup holder for dampening the sliding movement of the cup holder relative to the sleeve between the stowed and use positions.

According to another aspect of the invention, a dampener is provided for dampening the motion of a sliding accessory relative to a support frame. The dampener includes a longitudinally extending wall having opposite outer and inner surfaces. The inner surface is adapted to be fixedly secured to one of the sliding accessory or the support frame. An arcuately shaped spring member is formed integrally with the longitudinally extending wall of the dampener. The spring member extends outwardly from the one of the sliding accessory or the rigid frame member for providing an interference fit between the sliding accessory and the support frame.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a cup holder assembly according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front cross sectional view of the assembly in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side cross sectional view taken through 3-3 indicated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of a dampener in the cup holder assembly of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a rear perspective view of the dampener of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a cup holder assembly having an improved compression rail or dampener for dampening the motion of the cup holder between a stowed position and a use position. The dampener is made entirely of plastic, thereby eliminating the need for metal springs as used in conventional designs. The cup holder assembly with the improved dampener design is described in greater detail below.

Referring to FIG. 1, a cup holder assembly according to the invention is generally indicated at 10. The cup holder assembly 10 includes a support frame 20, a sleeve 30 and a cup holder 40. The support frame 20 is adapted to be fixedly secured to a wall of a dashboard (not shown). The support frame 20 includes generally parallel and spaced apart side walls 21, 23. The frame 20 also includes generally parallel and spaced apart top 25 and bottom 27 walls. The walls 21, 23, 25, 27 of the frame 20 are arranged to form a first rectangular opening 29 to slidably receive the sleeve 30 therethrough. Similarly, the sleeve 30 includes generally parallel and spaced apart side walls 31, 33. The sleeve 30 also includes generally parallel and spaced apart top 35 and bottom 37 walls. The walls 31, 33, 35, 37 of the sleeve 30 are arranged to form a second rectangular opening 39 to slidably receive the cup holder 40 therethrough.

The cup holder assembly 10 includes a first compression rail or dampener 50 for dampening the sliding movement of the sleeve 30 relative to the frame 20. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the first dampener 50 includes opposite inner 51 and outer 59 surfaces. A pair of bosses 53, 55 extends outwardly from the outer surface 59 of the dampener 50 for locating the first dampener 50 during assembly with the side wall 21. One boss 53 has a circular shaped profile and extends through a circular hole 24 formed in the side wall 21. The other boss 55 has an ovular shaped profile and extends through an ovular shaped hole 26 formed in the side wall 21. This arrangement allows only one orientation of the first dampener relative to the side wall 21.

The first dampener 50 also includes an end hook 56 that extends from the outer surface 59 and through a rear slot 28 in the side wall 21. The first dampener 50 also includes a plurality of tabs 52, 58 that extends from the outer surface 59 to hookingly engage respective sides of a rectangular front slot 22 formed in the side wall 21. Thus, during assembly, the end hook 56 is first inserted through the rear slot 28. The bosses 53, 55 ensure that the first dampener 50 is properly oriented relative to the side wall 21. The tabs 52, 58 are then pushed through the front slot 22, so as to hookingly engage respective sides of the front slot 22.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a pair of first dampeners 50 is coupled to the side walls 21, 23 of the frame 20 and protrudes inwardly toward each other to act on opposite side walls 31, 33 of the sleeve 30. The first dampeners 50 are slidably engaged with longitudinally extending tracks 32 formed in the side walls 31, 33 of the sleeve 30. The first dampener 50 also includes at least one arcuately shaped spring member 54 that extends outwardly relative to the inner surface 51. In one embodiment of the invention, the first dampener 50 includes a pair of spring members 54. The spring members 54 protrude into the opening 29 to define an interference fit with the tracks 32 of the sleeve 30. The interference between the spring members 54 and the tracks 32 dampens the sliding movement of the sleeve 30 relative to the frame 20. The spring members 54 are made of plastic and are integrally formed as a single unit with the first dampener 50 during a plastic injection molding process.

The cup holder assembly 10 also includes a second dampener 60 for dampening the sliding movement of the cup holder 40 relative to the sleeve 30. A pair of second dampeners 60 is fixedly secured to respective opposite side walls 41, 43 of the cup holder 40. An end hook 66 extends through a rear slot 44 in the side wall 41, 43. Hooked tabs 62, 64 engage respective sides of a front slot 42. The end hook 66 and the tabs 62, 64 couple the second dampeners 60 to the side walls 41, 43. Each second dampener 60 includes an arcuately shaped spring member 64. The spring members 64 extend outwardly from opposite sides 41, 43 of the cup holder 40 to interfere with and slidably engage respective side walls 31, 33 of the sleeve 30.

A spring-loaded one-touch mechanism (not shown) allows a user to push on the front face 45 of the cup holder 40 to cause movement of the cup holder 40 to either the stowed and use positions. The first dampeners 50 exert a lateral force on the outer surface of the side walls 31, 33 of the sleeve 30 to dampen the sliding motion of the sleeve between the stowed and use positions. Similarly, the second dampeners 60 exert a lateral force on the inner surface of the side walls 31, 33 of the sleeve 30 to dampen the sliding motion of the cup holder 40 relative to the sleeve 30. The lateral forces applied by the dampeners 50, 60 also provide rigidity to the overall assembly 10 during movement of the cup holder 40 between the stowed and use positions. The dampened motion combined with the rigidity in the assembly 10 renders a sense of enhanced quality associated with the operation of the cup holder 40. Preferably, the dampeners 50, 60 are vertically spaced apart to exert a lateral force on substantially opposite upper and lower ends of the side walls 31, 33 of the sleeve 30.

The dampeners 50, 60 as described above are formed from plastic. In one embodiment of the invention, the dampeners 50, 60 are formed in an injection molding process, so that the spring members 54, 64 are integrally formed as part of the dampeners 50, 60. The dampeners 50, 60 improve over conventional designs by eliminating the need to produce and assemble separate spring metal parts to the dampener. Thus, the dampeners 50, 60 according to the invention provide significant cost savings due to reduced part count and assembly costs without sacrificing function and quality.

It should be readily appreciated by those having ordinary skill in the art that the dampeners 50, 60 may also be used to dampen the motion of other sliding accessories in the vehicle, such as lids, doors, ashtrays and manually operated push and pull cup holder designs.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner. It is, therefore, to be understood that the terminology used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Many modifications and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, the dampeners can be fixedly secured to the sleeve to act on the side walls of the frame and cup holder. Alternatively, the dampeners can be arranged to act on the top and bottom walls of the sleeve rather than the side walls. Alternatively, the cup holder may be directly slidably engaged with the frame, wherein the dampeners act between the side walls of the cup holder and the frame rather than the sleeve. It should, therefore, be readily appreciated that the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described, while remaining within the scope of the appended claims. 

1. A cup holder assembly comprising: a support frame having spaced apart walls; a cup holder slidably engaged with the walls of the support frame for movement between a stowed position disposed between the walls of the support frame and a use position extending outwardly from the support frame; and a dampener coupled to the walls of the support frame, the dampener having an arcuate spring member formed integrally therewith to provide an interference fit with the cup holder for dampening the sliding movement of the cup holder relative to the support frame between the stowed and use positions.
 2. A cup holder as set forth in claim 1, wherein the dampener includes a plurality of bosses extending outwardly through corresponding holes formed in the support frame, the bosses having different profiles to allow one orientation of the dampener during assembly to the walls of the support frame.
 3. A cup holder as set forth in claim 2, wherein one boss has a circular profile and a second boss has an ovular profile, the circular and ovular bosses extending into corresponding circular and ovular holes formed in the side wall to allow one orientation of the dampener during assembly to the walls of the support frame.
 4. A cup holder as set forth in claim 3 including a sleeve disposed between the frame and the cup holder, wherein the sleeve is slidably engaged with the frame and the cup holder is slidably engaged with the sleeve for movement between the stowed and use positions.
 5. A cup holder as set forth in claim 4 including a second dampener disposed between the sleeve and the cup holder, the second dampener having an arcuate spring member formed integrally therewith to provide an interference fit with the cup holder for dampening the sliding movement of the cup holder relative to the sleeve between the stowed and use positions.
 6. A cup holder as set forth in claim 1, wherein the dampener includes an end hook engaged with a slot in the side wall to retain an end of the dampener relative to the support frame.
 7. A cup holder as set forth in claim 6, wherein the dampener includes a hooked tab for hookingly engaging a second slot formed in the side wall, the end hook and hooked tab securing the dampener to the side wall of the support frame.
 8. A cup holder as set forth in claim 4, wherein the dampener slidably engages a track formed in the side wall of the sleeve.
 9. A cup holder as set forth in claim 5, wherein the dampeners act on opposite surfaces of the side wall of the sleeve to dampen the sliding movements of the cup holder and the sleeve between the stowed and use positions.
 10. A cup holder as set forth in claim 9, wherein the dampeners are vertically spaced apart to act on substantially opposite upper and lower ends of the side walls of the sleeve.
 11. A dampener for dampening the motion of a sliding accessory relative to a support frame, said dampener comprising: a longitudinally extending wall having opposite outer and inner surfaces, the inner surface adapted to be fixedly secured to one of the sliding accessory or the support frame; and an arcuately shaped spring member formed integrally with the longitudinally extending wall of the dampener, the spring member extending outwardly from the one of the sliding accessory or the rigid frame member for providing an interference fit between the sliding accessory and the support frame.
 12. A dampener as set forth in claim 10 including an eccentric boss allowing one orientation of assembly of the dampener to the one of the sliding accessory or the rigid frame member. 